Ch. 7: Beyond the Big Guys: Independent and Community Journalism Online
Roanoake.com
Site earned awards for quality and for online coverage of breaking news [Roanoke] – 145
Site publishes special projects focused on topics via multimedia [Roanoke] – 146
Special project discussed the challenges of aging in the community [Roanoke] – 146
Editor sought stories related to responses to Virginia Tech shootings [Roanoke] – 147
Editor sought alternate responses to Virginia Tech shootings [Roanoke] – 147
QuincyNews.org
Web-only outlet revealed criminal record of city’s tech director [Quincy News] – 150
Web-only outlet follows investigation of city’s tech director [Quincy News] – 150
Web-only outlet provides live blogs of government meetings [Quincy News] – 150
West Seattle Blog
Former broadcaster started online outlet including citizen reporting [West Seattle] – 153
Online outlet detailed waterproofing work required for reservoirs [West Seattle] – 155
Box: Naming (and Unnaming?) in Online Criminal Coverage
Editor considered ethics of reporting murder involving past abuse [West Seattle] – 157
Editor’s decisions reflect some values of the SPJ Code of Ethics (SPJ] – 158
The Role of Professional Journalists Versus Citizens
Database of 800 citizen media sites includes professionals and amateurs [Knight] – 161
Survey: 35 percent of bloggers had previous media experience [Technorati] – 161
Foundation funds a number of online community news startups [J-Lab] – 161
Directory of blogs reveals largest number deal with topics of “living” [Technorati] – 161
Foundation offers online learning modules and links to skills resources [Knight] – 162
Citizen site provides journalism history, training tips for its contributors [Rapidian] – 162
Other sources post materials on journalistic conventions and values [Hall] – 162
Organization provides six standards for ethical reporting for contributors [Rapidian] – 162
The Purpose of the Site
Neighborhood site earned citizen media award for investigative reporting [J-Lab] – 164
The Purpose of the Site: Another Example
Site covers every murder in D.C. using documents, social media, help from public [Homicide Watch]
I welcome your comments about the site and ways to improve it.
Please let me know if you have new examples of excellent work to suggest to add.
Excellence in Online Journalism 